In a struggling economy businesses look for ways to cut costs, especially through the use of technology. One thing which can be a growing expense for businesses is travel related costs. That’s why many companies have looked to technology for inexpensive meeting solutions.

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings(R) National and Event Technology Expo pre-conference survey has found that while online solutions are better for the bottom line they don’t replace the value of face-to-face meetings. According to the survey, 76% of those attending the expo stated that they used technology for marketing while 68% used it for presentations followed by 56% who used technology for networking.

The survey results have been interpreted by the HSMAI to show that technology can’t replace the conference experience in six elements. Those elements include

socializing and networking spontaneously

helping attendees best put names with faces

allowing more free and open dialogue between attendees and vendors/presenters

training effectively via live and personal interaction

paying greater attention to others when face-to-face

engaging in real-time conversation that is not interrupted by technical glitches

When it came to cuts in many expense budgets for businesses this year you know that training and travel costs were on the chopping block. That’s why many conventions and expos are hurting for attendance this year. Companies simply feel they can’t justify the registration and travel costs in the current economy.

In order to still provide training and networking opportunities for their employees companies have looked to technology. In many cases technology can be an extremely viable and a cost effective solution. That’s why I have personally used many online courses to train not only myself, but other employees.

Unfortunately, as a result employees suffer from the inability to be able to network with their peers. I can tell you that there are peers that I have met from conventions and trainings that I continue to collaborate with. This collaboration is crucial so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when you need to come up with a solution for a problem. Yet, it’s hard for hiring managers to put a price on this kind of asset which comes from physically attending a meeting. As a result, I believe expos and conventions will continue to suffer in the near future.